The declaration of telecom as an infrastructure industry is one of the best economic decisons of the Indian government in recent times, according to Sridar Iyengar, chairman and CEO of KPMG Peat Marwick, India. Iyengar was speaking in a seminar on `The telecom sector opportunities in de-regulation in Mumbai organised by the Netherlands-based international accounting and consulting firm. The move will lead to the entry of more MNCs in the telecom sector, he said.
Roger Pye, a partner of the Telecom Consulting Practice group, RPMG, London, felt that the forecasting techniques undertaken by different telecom companies should take specific issues into consideration like the high prices paid for mobile licences, the regional variations, income differentials and the other vagaries of demand forecasting in an immature market.
According to him, the problems faced by the cellular operators was mainly due to the high price being paid for licences. Any valuation needs to have the cost of the licence fee factored -in, failing which there would be deviations in the end results he added.
Iyengar on the other hand emphasised upon a better understanding amongst telecom and finance companies regarding the exact status of India. He emphasised the fact that the nation is perceived as a reservoir of technical excellence attracting praise even from Bill Gates.
Our advice to those wanting to invest in telecom-related areas is that India is the right place, Iyengar said.
According to him no MNC in todays competitive environment can afford to neglect India and there is a tendency in international circles to invest in both the emerging economies, India and China, simultaneously.
Sharukh Dumasia, KPMGs chief of information communication and entertainment, said that forecasts of telecom operators could not be faulted in case the exercise went wrong in the first year or two.
